Business Development Incubator at NJCU gets business growing

Serving at the intersection of education and entrepreneurship, the Business Development Incubator at New Jersey City University assists students and local business owners with growing their skills.

“The business incubator is a tool,” said Joseph Tetteh, 58, director of the BDI. “What we do is to provide services such as mentorship interns of how to run a business.”

Founded in 1998, the BDI was originally part of the NJCU’s business school, but has since moved in its current 12,437-square-foot facility, located at 285 Westside Ave.

Tetteh explained that, as part of its program, entrepreneurs are given the chance to lease spaces that range from 64 to 516 square feet on their premises, and take part in a collective environment of sorts, sharing conference room spaces, company kitchen space and even mail room facilities.

He added that through this collective atmosphere, business owners are given the chance to keep their costs low, and benefit from being around other professionals.

“For a one-person company, they can barely keep their businesses going by chasing customers and trying to develop their business,” he explained. “So, for the incubator to provide this kind of services, that help[s] them to free their minds to concentrate on their business.”

Currently, BDI has 25 companies that work out of the facility, including a film company, a photo studio, four IT services companies, and two financial services companies, according to Tetteh, who added that last year, 10 companies graduated from the program and moved on into their own private spaces.

BDI also puts on a series of sponsored “Lunch & Learn” workshops on business practices, he explained.

BDI provides a symbiotic relationship to both their businesses and NJCU students through its Capstone Project, which gives students the opportunity to intern with businesses at BDI, according to Tetteh. “It gives the students the opportunity to come and work for different companies,” he added. “It gives them real-life experiences.”

Those interested in getting their business into BDI do not need to be NJCU students, but they should have a clear business plan and be motivated toward success in getting their ventures off the ground, Tetteh said.

“We are looking for the best ideas out there,” he explained. “We like to make sure the idea has a chance to grow.”